Trading One For Three
by Kakela
Summary: Jewel is about to take her cast off and fly again, but a startling discovery changes the way she looks at life, and even Blu; at least while he's still around...
1. Chapter 1

"Trading one For Three"

Chapter 1

"Okay, I'm ready," Jewel chirped cheerily. Blu smiled and nodded and lifted her into the sunny sky through the leaf covering the hollow. The rain had cleared and it was a beautiful day, the jungle was moist and dripping in the gracious rains the heavens had offered. A male azure macaw was flying through the forest, carrying below him the envy of Rio; a precious Jewel. The wind calmly blew through her curled head feathers, a bright smile emanating on her face. The duo flew through an open metal vent and the two were soon landing on the floor of an artificial jungle inside the aviary, in front of a wooden hut spacious enough to fit the two of them within.

Blu landed next to Jewel, and gazed into the sapphire orbs that were her eyes, and naturally, became finicky. His eyes darted left and right and he cleared his throat, Jewel smiling at him as he thought. _[Okay, no tree pedals flying around this time…]_ "Jewel," he began shakily, "I've been wanting to tell you that I-" He choked a little, yet attempted to regain the strength to continue. _[No! No come on!]_ He coaxed himself. With each word, Jewel's eyes widened, waiting for his confession in anticipation; She wanted to hear what he had to say that day on the trolley. "That I- that I love you, and- and… and I want to spend every… I mean every day of my life by- by your side, and-" Jewel forced her beak upon his, she'd heard all she needed to. She pulled her beak off his and said overjoyed, "I couldn't have described how I feel any better." For once, Blu believed he'd accomplished something.

Suddenly, Jewel doubled over, clutching her abdomen and pushing Blu to the side, cawing in pain. "Jewel!" Blu called, rushing over to her for comfort. He held on to her tightly as she quietly coughed up the remnants of her last meal into the artificial plants. 'Jewel, are you- are you alright?" She turned and weakly responded, "Yeah… I'm fine." The door creaked open and Blu watched as Tulio walked up to tend to Jewel, and knowing she was in good hands, Blu called, "I'll get you something to eat." Jewel shakily looked over Tulio's shoulder, ears ringing as Blu darted into the vent, out to the forest.

Blu flew about, searching for something delectable to start the morning. He spotted the mango tree from afar and pondered a moment, deciding that over the course of their adventures, mangoes had become too common. Aloud to himself, Blu stated, "I should go deeper into the Jungle to find something a little more… rare," he decided, eyes lighting up. He flew in an unfamiliar direction, being cautious to take note of landmarks along his path. A nagging feeling in the back of his mind lit up that he couldn't shake, almost as if he'd been here before. It was an abandoned area with no birds to be seen with an eerie fog filling the immediate area. Putting two and two together, he decided that where birds weren't, food was, as the limited population would allow for greater fruit output. He perched in an empty hollow in a tree, overlooking a small pond, when in the distance; he thought he saw green and yellow eggplant shaped things growing on a tree. Curious, he flew over and looked them over, and they were nibbled on. He smiled, and applied his banana science to these foreign fruit, yellow was ripe and green was not. Satisfied with the one he was holding, he picked it and flew back towards the aviary, eager with anticipation of witnessing Jewel's face when she saw his new treasure.

The jungle watched a lone Spix Macaw pick out a succulent papaya and fly away, keeping from him a downed plane behind a thicket of trees. Surrounding the plane were numerous rigged cages, all unlocked, open and strewn about. A litter of white feathers were in a pile nearby, and the forest watched angrily as he stole fruit, and it's gaze could only be matched by those of a white cockatoo, looking on with a bitter hatred at his latest, and only failed catch. He solemnly muttered under his breath, "I will make you ugly too…"  
>Jewel looked quizzically at Tulio, who was examining her wing intently; Busily lifting it up, tugging on it and squeezing certain areas to get a reaction from his patient. He pulled backwards slightly and she cooed bitterly, thus concluding the ornithologist's checkup. He smiled at her, and chimed, "If you're lucky, maybe we can take the cast off tomorrow to see how you feel." Jewel looked at him in wonderment as he reached out for her to perch on his arm, an alien gesture to her. She stared on, skeptical and indifferent, but thought of Blu, and courageously hopped up onto his forearm. Tulio was proud to have bridged the animosity with Jewel's trust in humans, and set her gently in the artificial jungle. She walked on through the silver gate to see Blu staring questioningly at a ripe papaya.<p>

Blu saw her enter and chirped, "Hiya Jewel!" she smiled back, looking at the fruit, mouth watering. Blu walked over and pulled her by the wing to the fruit and asked, "So what did he say?" She smiled and gratefully chirped, "He said I can take it off tomorrow to check it out." Blu smiled brightly, eager to fly for the first time, side by side with his love. She looked back at the fruit in wonderment and finally asked, "Where did you get this? I haven't had papaya since I was little..." Blu shrugged sheepishly and grinned, "I was just, out and about in the jungle and, and I don't know, went out on a whim..." Jewel looked back, puzzled, "What do you mean?" He looked up at her, and said nonchalantly, "Oh, well I- I just don't, uhh... I don't know what this is." Jewel laughed, and said, "Here, I'll show you how to eat it." The two ate the papaya together in peace, knowing they could never be ripped apart.

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><p><strong>A.N. I am back, with the first story of the new year. I hope you enjoyed, and please review! I have been inspired to continue do to theessayed of my readers like WordSPark, and you should check out his stories as well. Happy New year, and have a nice day! <strong>

**-Kakela**


	2. Chapter 2

"Trading one For Three"

Chapter 2

Jewel opened her eyes, peering into Blu's handsome face as he slept, breathing melodically. He had his wings around her, keeping Jewel warm throughout the night, and she cheerfully allowed thoughts of him to run through her mind. _[Hmm... what to do today... I won't have my cast on, so we can fly around... Maybe go to the beach...]_ Blu suddenly interrupted her thoughts with a slight snore, and she giggled quietly. _[Or maybe we can just, lay here all day.__] _She smiled, _[In the warmth of each other's wings... I'd like that.]_ Jewel found herself beginning to think beyond these feeble thoughts, appreciating him more with each passing minute. _[I can't put my wings around him though... I wish I could, that's all I need to do today.]_ Her eyes widened a little in realization, _[I can't put my wings around him... I wonder if he gets cold in the night. It's like, It's like all he does is think of me.]_ Jewel's wing in the cast felt fine, and she smiled at the thought of flying again. She quietly yawned, and decided to give Blu a reason to wake up. She faced him and closed her eyes, then leaned forward, startled when Blu closed in the kiss. Blu whispered, "Good morning Jewel," and that was all she needed to hear. She shoved him and stood up angrily, and Blu watched helplessly, "Why didn't you tell me you were awake?" Jewel shouted. Blu sat up quickly and retreated to the wall of the hollow, stammering, "I- I- I just, I don't know..." He stared on terrified, as Jewel glared through him with a glance that could cut through steel. "Don't you think it would be _nice_ to know you were awake?" Blu tried to redeem himself, "I just- I just wanted to know what you- what you would do, and-" Jewel's stomach growled, but she held her ground, staring at him angrily. Blu stood up and sidestepped around her, "How about I- Uhh, get us something to eat?" Jewel remained silent, and Blu nervously flew up and out through the vent.

The moment he was out of sight, Jewel broke down, asking herself, "Why did... why did I shout?" Her eyes widened, and a slow frown crept across her face. Suddenly she lurched forward, hurling onto the ground all that was left in her otherwise empty stomach. Eyes watering and on all fours, she weakly said aloud, "What's happening to me?" It was like nothing she'd ever experienced before, and she became frightened. _[Am I sick? Maybe something Blu brought from Mini-sota?]_ Jewel tried her best to stand, but fell flat on all fours again, and tried to crawl back to the hollow. Jewel watched uncontrollably as colors merged, and halfway back to the ground hollow, she collapsed.

Blu was on his way back with a full folded leaf packed with nuts and berried that he could scrounge, struggling to support his weight, let alone the added burden of the sustenance. It'd taken him at least five minutes longer to collect all of the finest fruits he could, and prayed upon his return that Jewel wouldn't still be upset. All around him, birdsong echoed, the winds blew in the morning breeze and life was bustling, but he paid no attention to these things, as he was focuses on making things right with Jewel. He flapped frantically through the vents, following a feather trail he'd left himself since the first day he went inside. He rounded the corner, heading down the metallic hallway to the light at the end, and emerged in the artificial jungle. A quick glance down and he caught sight of Jewel laying on the ground. His eyes widened and he called, "Jewel!" before he flew down as fast as he could, dropping the bundle with a heavy 'thump' to the ground. Blu rolled Jewel on her back and pressed the side of his head on her chest, and let out a sigh of relief when he heard her heartbeat.

Jewel hazily opened her eyes to see Blu nuzzling her neck and she let out a soft laugh before reassuring him, "I'm alright you goof." Blu looked down smiling and helped her to her feet, "I got some food if, if you're still hungry." She nodded, and Blu watched her sit by the bundle to eat, and he quietly walked over to the pond and plopped down, looking at his reflection. A while later he turned around to check on her, and she was looking around the leaf. "Is everything alright Jewel?" She nodded, but asked, "Do you know if Tulio put birdseed anywhere?" Blu's jaw dropped a little; the bundle was empty and Jewel was still looking for food. "Uhh, y- yeah, hold on, I'll be right back," Blu said worriedly. He turned around and flew out to get Tulio, with food the last thing on his mind.

Tulio had taken Jewel to a different room this time, as she wasn't getting x-rayed, but rather receiving medical attention. He sat in one of the waiting room chairs, twiddling his feathers with a look of concern, hoping she'd be alright. Just then, Linda walked through the doors with a brown paper bag, searching for Tulio when she met Blu's worried gaze. She walked over and knelt by him, asking softly, "What's wrong Blu?" He cawed softly, looking at the floor with a morose expression. Linda beamed, "I know what'll make you feel better, how about we go make a nice cup of hot chocolate?" Blu nodded, realizing how long it'd been since he last had Cocoa and cookies, and hopped up onto her shoulder as she walked into the aviary staff room.

Jewel looked up at Tulio, eyes glittering with tears of happines sliding down her cheeks. He smiled, then said, "Oh, and let me get the scissors." She watched as he reached into a drawer and picked out a shiny silver pair of clippers, and held on to her wing as she watched. Tulio carefully cut the cast off and Jewel looked at her wing, front and back. Her feathers were ruffled from the isolation, and she reached up to her face and used her left wing for the first time in two weeks to dry her eyes. Tulio reached his arm out, and without second thought, Jewel hopped onto his arm, and Tulio walked out of the milk white door and down the hallways to see Blu on Linda's shoulder with a tray of hot cocoa lavishly surrounded by chocolate speckled cookies. They locked eyes, as did the Macaws and Linda set down the tray on a table next to the chair Blu had been sitting on. Blu hopped off of Linda's shoulder and on to the chair, beckoning to Jewel happily. She complied and flew over to him as the humans hugged behind her, and they held wings, staring into each others eyes; with Blu unaware that Jewel didn't have a care in the world about flying again.


	3. Chapter 3

"Trading one For Three"

Chapter 3

Jewel had strange emotions and thoughts, standing there holding wings with Blu. _[Should I tell him? When should I tell him? How will… how will he react?]_ Naturally, self-doubt worked its way into her mind. A frown crept on her phasing physique and Blu pulled her toward the cup of cocoa and cookies. She laughed and let herself be hurried to the platter, the look on Blu's face full of sheer excitement and anticipation. He showed her the ropes; swirling one of the cookies in the steaming cup of Hot Chocolate before munching, and she followed suit. Her eyes lit up upon tasting the cookie, let alone dipped in the savory chocolate. The two indulged, letting their senses be overwhelmed by the richness of the chocolate.

After the tray contained nothing but crumbs and the cup was drained, Linda picked up the tray and the two birds took to the air, flying outside of the two open front doors. It was a dark day, clouds blocked the sun, and it was cool. The wind blew, the trees swayed, the day hung heavy with dread. Up ahead, Blu was moseying along, gliding slowly. Jewel had never been more careful in her life, no more risks, and no careless tricks. Blu flew in loop-the-loops and so on, turning to his sides to find that Jewel was falling behind. He took into consideration that she hadn't flown in a while and needed to get back up to par when he noticed her eyes drooping. "Jewel?" He called to her, concerned. She looked up hazily and said, "I'm fine Blu, I…" She fell into unconsciousness, dropping a little before jerking awake. "I… I jus-"She started dropping like a stone to the gravel below. "Jewel!" Blu shouted, diving toward the tarmac. The wind burned his eyes as he realized; _[I won't make it in time…]_ He clenched his eyes shut, thinking solemnly, _[This is going to hurt]_ He flipped himself upside down in mid-air, clutching Jewel in his wings as he plummeted to the hard gravel and landed with a thud on his back. Then everything went dark.

Jewel woke up cheerily in the hollow and tilted her head to the side to say good morning to Blu. "Hey-"He wasn't there. She turned her head to the side, seeing nothing but the dark brown of the hut. She sat up and rubbed her head when her memories flooded in. "Blu?" she called out to no one in particular, "Blu?" She remembered fainting high in the air, and filled with panic. She patted her stomach frantically, feeling around, relieved when she felt the two lumps in her belly. She took a deep breath, and pondered where he might be, then, briefly, how she was still here. _[He saved me,]_ she thought, _[Again…]_ She walked out hazily with a headache. Jewel looked around; no food around the hollow, and Blu was no-where to be found. She flew towards the vent, ready to go through for the first time. She landed with a clink, staring down the metal hallways. She walked through slowly, considering how she would've escaped had she fit through the grate. Slowly, each hallway was looked down, and she became worried, when she stared down to see a blue feather tucked into the metal. She smiled and pranced over, seeing another blue feather in the distance. She followed that one, and another, not expecting it to end when suddenly she was blinded by a light at the end of the metallic hallway. She flew through, into the human's treatment room. People in lab coats were scattered about, tending to the injuries of some of the birds recently rescued. She frowned when she couldn't find Blu.

Her mind raced, and she took to the x-ray room where she'd been taken many times prior. She perched on the thin windowsill and peeked in, finding it to be empty. Jewel thought of the room her last visit and shrugged off the idea, but went ahead anyway. As she flapped to the window, one or two feathers fluttered gently to the floor. She gripped on to the thin surface and looked through to see Tulio hunched over Blu with a metal tool in his hands. She pecked at the door and he turned around to let her in. She flew on to a table next to the bed was Blu was lying on and gasped at the sight; his back feathers were red, embedded with small rocks. She shut her eyes and turned away, it was too horrifying. She heard him working frantically, the soft plucks of rocks, clinking into a small porcelain dish on the side. She tried to turn to look at him but flinched at the red splotches. Tulio was washing his hands when he said softly, "You know, you're lucky to have someone like Blu." He turned the tap and dried his hands, chuckling, "Saving your back at the expense of his own." Jewel nodded solemnly in agreement.

She perched next to him, stroking his wing, watching him sleep. It was dark outside, the clouds seemed endless. Jewel watched the grey roll by, towards her, then past, alone in this room with Blu. A solid ten minutes later, he stirred. Jewel suddenly felt alive again, as if a surge of energy coursed through her veins with his waking. "Blu?" she cooed quietly, he shook his head a little and cringed, the pain running up his back. He turned his head towards her and opened his eyes to see Jewel with an angry look on her face, with dry tear streaks contradicting the current mood she displayed. "Blu… you can't…" Jewel started, looking at him now with sympathy, "You can't just go risking your life everywhere you go…" He looked at her adoringly, and chirped, "Only for you, Jewel. I can't let anything happen to-" Jewel cut him off, "I get it, I do, but-" It was Blu's turn to interject, "I'd give anything to know you're alright, and-" "No!" Her eyes clenched shut, "Blu you don't understand, I-" Blu said meaningfully, "I'd to anything I could to keep you from getting hurt…"

Jewel opened her eyes, letting concealed tears flow, "Nothing hurts me more… Than seeing you-" She sniffled, "In… in pain- Because of…" She broke her eye contact, looking up to the ceiling, "Because of me…" Blu frowned a little, "I'll be fine Jewel," she had enough of his stubbornness, "Sooner or later, something will happen… and- and you… you won't be." Blu reassured her, "It's alright Jewel, I-" She finally snapped, "No! It's not alright Blu!" It was then, in blind rage, sitting next to his hospital bed that it came out; Jewel inadvertently blurted, "I can't raise our chicks without a father!"

The cloud layer cleared, the sun shone brightly through the never-ending darkness.


	4. Chapter 4

"Trading one For Three"

Chapter 4

Blu's eyes looked on, through Jewel in disbelief. "What? R- Really?" Jewel smiled, through her tears, nodding. "Yes." Was all she could say. She looked at him joyfully, "You're going to be a daddy," she said, laughing. She didn't know how to act really, though her bright eyes shone through the sun pierced cloud line. Blu didn't know how to react, what to do. A fake smile spread across his face. _[Will I… Will I be a good father? No… no I can't…] _He looked over to the window, then back to Jewel's beaming face, then smiled and hugged her. Jewel's wings were pinned to her sides from his embrace, and she nuzzled his neck, all she could manage. From behind her, Blu had a worried look on his face. Self-doubt worked its way into his mind, and he began to believe he wouldn't be a worthy father figure. He released her from the embrace and picked off the IV tubes from him, unaware that those very tubes were the only things keeping him conscious and painless.

The two stood in the artificial jungle, next to the ground hollow. Jewel walked in slowly, with hushed doubts working through her mind. _[What if Blu doesn't want children? He wouldn't leave me… He wouldn't…]_ Blu stood in the entrance with much different thoughts; of what he wanted to eat. His stomach grumbled and Jewel turned around, looking at him with mixed emotions, how she felt was coinciding with what she thought. After a pause, Blu said, "I'm gonna get something to eat, okay?"She nodded, but asked, in desperate need of assurance, "Promise you'll be back?" He turned back, nodded and flew away. She looked on as he went, a nagging feeling tugging in the back of her mind.

Blu was flying about through the jungle, getting a feel for what he wanted to eat. He remembered the sweet taste of the papaya, and decided to head off in that direction. On his way there, a twinge jolted up his spine. Blu perched on the papaya tree, back warmed by the mid afternoon sun. He glanced at each fruit, inspecting it carefully when he found one that looked ripe and un-eaten. He smiled, when a large shadow engulfed his own on the tree, and he turned around to greet this bird, to be met with red, demeaning eyes. Blu grew serious, but before he could do anything, Nigel pinned him to the tree, slamming him on his back. A fierce pain shot through his back, but it didn't recede. Nigel then grasped Blu's throat, sliding him up the trunk, "Why you… You're more trouble than you're worth." Blu squirmed, gasping for air with a burning pain enveloping his senses. He tried to flap, but struggled, as did Nigel with his patches of open skin. He began to retreat from the tree, still gripping Blu as he slid into bouts of unconsciousness. The world blurred and twisted, and the next thing he knew, he was slammed against metal bars; opening his eyes just enough to see Nigel with a padlock, grinning evilly as the cage shut. Blu fell on his side, shut out from the world from the burning sensation shrouding his back. He slowly and painfully slid into a deep sleep.

Jewel was feeling her tummy, fondling the two eggs inside. One eye shut, and she looked up to the ceiling with the other, sticking her tongue to the side in concentration. A slow smile worked its way on to her face at the thought of being a mother, imagining Blu with his children. "they'll learn so much from him," she said aloud to herself. All she felt was pride, pride first, then strangely, honor. Honored that he was the one. He could've settled for any bird in the jungle. _[He could _get_ any bird in the jungle... But he chose me...]_ She slumped back, waiting for him to return and began to doze off. Her eyelids grew heavy, and she fought it to the best of her ability, but caved in. She slid into a dream, smiling. Nigel glared at the rows upon rows of metal hallways, and spotted a light blue feather tucked into the folding of the wall. "Hmph!" He grunted, and walked slowly down the vent, talons clinking against the cold metal. He rounded the corner and faced yet another dreaded hallway that went on a ways when a slight whirring kicked on behind him. A breeze gently wafted past his face, and he relaxed a little. He shook himself off and began to walk down the vent, when a harsh wind caught his feathers and he stumbled backwards a step. The whirring had grown to a hushed roar, but he pressed on. Then, he felt the floor sliding beneath his talons and glared at the smooth metal irritated. The wind picked up, and he felt as he was pulled backwards by an unknown force. He turned around, and to his horror came to see an unguarded blade rotating at a blistering speed. "No..." He said softly. He fell on his back, scraping on to the sides as he was being sucked into the industrial Conditioning unit. He tried to hold on to the sides to no avail, until the previous hallway came into sight. He grasped on to the side and finally belted, "Help! Argh!"

Jewel was jolted awake by a metallic scraping, and propped herself up, now fully awake. She smiled and waited in anticipation until she heard his voice. "Help!" Her eyes shot wide, it wasn't _his_ voice... it was _his..._ She poised at the ready, jumping to her feet. "Help me!" His voice trailed off. With a determined look in her eyes, she darted up to the vent. Upon entering, the numerous hallways rattled her mind, though she cautiously advanced. She looked down each and every hall, and was about to turn around when a Blue hue caught her eye. It was one of Blu's feathers. She walked up to it, when the sound of Nigel shouting startled her. She followed the corridor to see his wing gripping for dear life on to the side of the wall. Jewel peeked around the corner and asked cutely, "Hey there." He looked at her in disgust and grunted, "Are you going to help me or not?" She poked her head further out into the hallway, "Oh, I'm not too sure..." She smiled, and Nigel's wing slid a half inch. "Looks a bit uncomfortable hmm?" She cooed, "So what brings you here?" The white mass of feathery fury slid another half inch, only a half inch left. "So my uhh, wing healed... It's nice to fly again. " She looked sweetly at him and said, "Do you know where Blu is?" He growled, "Ugh... Fine! Yes, Yes! Now Help me out!" Jewel glared at him and pulled her head behind the corner. Nigel slipped another half inch.

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><p><strong>A.N.: I apologize about the wait, I've had so many problems with my computer or<strong> **internet that it had become impossible to write. Putting it this way, my computer is in pieces on my desk as I type, outside of the case, but I wanted to try to at least post the last of my series before, worst case scenario, I disappear from Fanfiction. Please leave reviews, it's the support that keeps me writing, and frankly, I haven't had many views or reviews lately, and I do hope that changes. With any luck you enjoyed this latest update in my Rio Fanfic series, and look forward to future chapters. They'll be there, I just can't tell you when...**


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